If you happened to catch The RoomPlace blog last week, you probably remember that we’ve been offering advice on how to decorate for the holidays according to your own unique interior design style. Those who stick with a casual contemporary or comfortable country décor can find seasonal decorating tips in our previous blog post, but now the day has come for those of you who’ve been awaiting holiday decorating ideas for traditional or modern tastes.

Tried-and-True Traditional

If you’re into traditional décor, you probably have a few highly ornamental wood furniture pieces in your living room collection or dining room set, and a handful of lavish bedroom items featuring rich woods like mahogany, oak and cherry. In a word, tried-and-true traditional style is “grand.” As one of the most luxurious fabrics out there, velvet is the perfect choice for anyone looking to craft a more regal holiday ambiance.

First rule of thumb: less is more. When you overdo velvet, it’s easy to come off tacky. To rein in your royal-minded traditional style, it might help to remember that velvet isn’t the most durable fabric, so it’s best left for lower-traffic pieces of furniture. Skip the velvet sofa and opt for velvet cocktail chairs instead.

Velvet fabric is gorgeous in rich colors, so for the holidays, focus on darker hues like forest green, blood red, or deep maroon. Choosing these shades for throw pillows or the upholstery fabric on your dining room chairs makes a majestic seasonal statement.

Since velvet is a heavy fabric, it keeps bedtime warm and cozy if you need a break from flannel sheets and down comforters. When it’s cold and snowy outside your windows, it’ll be hard to resist curling up in a velvet-swathed bed with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa.

Chic Modern

Here at The RoomPlace, we recognize that some of our Chicago and Tinley Park affordable furniture customers like to stay one step ahead of the latest trends in fashion and design. These homeowners stick with chic modern décor that emphasizes overstated simplicity, geometrical shapes, and shocking or unexpected colors – themes which are surprisingly easy to incorporate into seasonal decorating.

Cones: Try replacing the evergreen with a few cone-shaped metallic trees of varying sizes, preferably in silver, white and blue tones. If you absolutely can’t imagine Christmas without a little green, experiment with a metallic lime hue instead of the traditional forest shade.

Spheres: Shake up an old favorite by trading in your green wreath and its big red bow with one made out of metallic silver and white ornaments. Then add shocking contrast with a bold cerulean ribbon, and use it to hang the wreath from the top of your hallway or bedroom mirror.

Cubes: This time of year, everyone loves the look of a wrapped present. Take advantage of the familiar cube shape by filling a clear plastic box with ball ornaments – preferably of bright blue and lime green to keep up your chic modern color scheme. Wrap with a light blue bow and place on a silver platter for a surprising coffee table centerpiece.

When it comes to the holiday season, many of us tend to revere tradition above all else. But there's nothing wrong with changing it up just a little, especially when it helps you stand out from the crowd and express yourself at the same time.

Have you been following The RoomPlace’s style-based holiday decorating tips, but you’re not sure what you'd call your own personal decorating style? You can learn more by visiting us online, or the team at your local RoomPlace furniture store will be more than happy to help.